Tile Calculator
Count the full tile order for a floor or a wall with this tile calculator. Type the area and the tile size, pick your lay pattern, and read the whole buy list in one result. The tool shows tiles to buy, boxes to buy, thinset bags by trowel size, and the grout type your joint width calls for. It suits bathroom floors, shower walls, backsplashes and kitchen floors.
What the result numbers mean
Your base count plus waste for your lay pattern, rounded up. This is the number the store order starts from.
The plain square feet of the surface. Walls count height times width, one wall at a time.
Tiles split into boxes by the tiles per box you type. Makers pack each size its own way, so the count follows your box.
Fifty pound bags counted from your trowel size, at the safe end of the maker chart. Bigger tiles call for bigger notches and more mortar.
Your joint width names the grout. Joints at 1/8 inch or less take unsanded grout. Wider joints take sanded grout.
Add a price per box and the tool prices the full box count, not the bare tile count.
How many tiles do I need?
Divide your area by the area of one tile, then add waste for your pattern. A bathroom floor of 40 square feet with 12 by 24 inch tiles needs 20 base tiles. At 10 percent waste for a straight lay, buy 22 tiles, which is 3 boxes of 8.
How the math works
Type the length and the width in feet. A wall counts height times width. Run each wall apart and add the counts.
Type the tile length and width in inches. The tool turns the tile into square feet, the unit the count divides by.
Tile sq ft = In x In / 144The lay pattern sets waste. A straight lay adds 10 percent. Diagonal and herringbone lays add 15, because angle cuts eat tiles.
Straight 10, Diagonal 15, Herringbone 15The tool divides the area by the tile size for the base count, adds the waste, and rounds up to whole tiles.
Area / Tile sq ft, plus wasteType the tiles per box from your box label. The tool divides the buy count by that number and rounds up to whole boxes.
The trowel size counts 50 lb thinset bags from the maker chart. The joint width names the grout type, sanded or unsanded.
A bathroom floor, 8 by 5 feet, with 12 by 24 inch tiles
Here is the bathroom floor from the quick answer, on a breakdown slip, the way the tool builds it.
Read the slip top to bottom. The base count is the bare floor. The waste line covers the cuts at the walls and the one tile that breaks. The box line rounds up again, so 3 boxes hold 24 tiles and leave 2 spare. The tile calculator above counts your own floor the same way.
Tile jobs, explained
Each tile job reads the same count math in its own way. This tile calculator counts them all from area, tile size and pattern. Tap a card to load that job shape in the tool.
The classic count. Measure length times width and run the tile size you picked. The worked example above counts this floor tile by tile.
Key measure: length and width in feetTap to load in the calculatorMeasure each wall apart, height times width, and add the walls. Wet walls want full mortar contact, so buy thinset at the chart rate and never stretch a bag.
Key measure: each wall, height times widthTap to load in the calculatorA backsplash is a long, low wall strip. Ten feet by 18 inches is 15 square feet. Small tiles mean many pieces, so the count climbs fast.
Key measure: length times heightTap to load in the calculatorThe 3 by 6 inch classic covers an eighth of a square foot per tile. Eight tiles make one square foot before cuts, and the offset lay eats spares at the ends.
Key measure: 8 tiles per square footTap to load in the calculatorMosaics ride on mesh sheets, often 12 by 12 inches. Count the sheet as the tile in the tool, and keep the joint at 1/8 inch or less for unsanded grout.
Key measure: sheet size as the tile sizeTap to load in the calculatorTiles of 24 inches and up need the big notch trowel and a flat floor. The thinset count per bag drops to about 42 square feet at the 1/2 inch notch.
Key measure: the 1/2 by 1/2 in trowelTap to load in the calculatorHexagons and other shaped tiles
The tile calculator supports differently shaped tiles the same way. Count shaped tiles by coverage, not by a per tile guess. A hexagon covers about 87 percent of the square its width suggests, so a count built on full squares runs short. Read the coverage printed on the box and divide your area by that number.
Mosaic sheets count as one big tile, the way the Mosaic sheets card above runs them. Shaped tiles also cut more at the walls, so use the 15 percent waste rate from the pattern step for hexagons and other shaped work.
Tile numbers, in one place
| Tile size | Square feet per tile | Tiles per square foot |
|---|---|---|
| 3 by 6 in subway | 0.125 | 8 |
| 12 by 12 in | 1.00 | 1 |
| 12 by 24 in | 2.00 | 0.5 |
| 18 by 18 in | 2.25 | About 0.44 |
| 24 by 24 in | 4.00 | 0.25 |
Common mistakes
Angle cuts eat tiles at every wall. A diagonal lay at a straight lay waste count runs out near the last corner.
Makers pack each tile size its own way. A count from a shelf sign or a guess sends you back to the store mid job. Read your box.
Thinset follows area and trowel size, never the tile count. A big tile floor drinks bags the count never shows.
Sanded grout packs poorly in joints at 1/8 inch or less and can scratch glazed faces. The joint width names the grout type.
How to buy tile for your job
The result moment is the buying moment. Take the tiles, boxes and bags from this tile calculator to the store. Two routes cover most tile jobs.
Option A: Tile and materials at the store
- Buy the box count from the tool, and read the coverage line on your own box before the order locks.
- The notched trowel is the tool the job needs next. Match its size to your tile, the way the thinset line does.
- Backer board goes under floor tile where the subfloor needs it. Count its sheets with the tile run.
- Keep one spare box from the same dye lot. A repair years later matches only from that lot.
Option B: Hire a tile setter
- A setter quotes labor apart from materials. Your tile, box and bag counts check their material list.
- Shower work carries waterproofing steps a floor never sees. That is where a pro earns the fee.
- Ask who buys the tile. Your count from this page keeps the order honest either way.
- Get the waste percent in writing. Pattern lays eat more, and the quote should say so.
For plank and vinyl floors in the same rooms, the flooring calculator counts boxes in the same style. For the walls around new tile, the paint calculator counts gallons and primer, and the square footage calculator owns the bare area step.
Questions, answered
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